US Steel Pollution concerns

Photo: The Canadian Press

This file photo from July 14, 2010 shows smoke pouring from the United States Steel Corp.'s Clairton Coke Works in Clairton, Pa.

The second fire in six months at U.S. Steel's massive coke plant outside Pittsburgh knocked a key pollution control system offline for nearly 16 hours Monday, prompting a health warning for residents and stern words from the region's top elected official.

The steelmaker announced late Monday that it had completed repairs following a small electrical fire, and equipment that removes toxic sulfur dioxide from coke oven gases was back in operation. The mishap did impact the neighbourhood's air quality, according to U.S. Steel.

"Restarting the desulfurization facility and minimizing the potential for impacts to the environment and community were of the highest priority for the company," said U.S. Steel spokeswoman Meghan Cox.

The Allegheny County Health Department had threatened to shut down the plant unless U.S. Steel acted quickly to fix its damaged equipment, while elected officials and environmental groups, mindful of the company's troubled recent history at the Clairton coke works, chastised the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker even as the latest incident turned out to be minor.

A Christmas Eve fire in the same area of the plant caused $40 million in damage and significant releases of sulfur dioxide, a pungent byproduct of fossil fuel combustion that can make it hard to breathe.

"I'm very disappointed that this is happening again. People in this community need assurance that the pollution control equipment is reliable and usable," County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said in a statement issued three hours before U.S. Steel announced it had resumed normal operations.

Health officials have levied more than $2 million in fines against U.S. Steel since June 2018 over persistent emissions problems at the coke works, the largest facility of its kind in the United States. The plant in Clairton turns coal into coke, a raw ingredient in the steelmaking process.